A Master Reminisces
by pokegeek42
Summary: I guess this is gonna be a small series of flashbacks/memories Ash has until he is 20. How he got where he is and such. I'd like to take requests for individual chapters so shoot me a PM if you have any good ideas. Hope you like it.
1. The Beginning of the End

So hey there.

I saw this absolutely fantastic pic on DeviantArt and it inspired me to do this. It's the cover and please go check out the artist on DA, robbybevard. His stuff is great.

This is gonna be a _hopefully_ reader driven story where Ash goes on a short trip with Misty 10 years later and he reminisces about the last ten years of his life. Each chapter is going to be a different memory/flashback. I have some ideas but I would love suggestions for chapters and i will keep this going as long as there are fresh ideas either from you all or me.

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"Yaaawwwwnnnn."

_Morning already?_ _No. The moon is still up and Pikachu is still snoring net to my head. I guess I should try and stay still, don't wanna wake Misty. _I look down at her. _She is really pressed up against me. It's not like she has a choice (this sleeping bag is really only for one) not that it would be any different if she did. _I grin at the thought. _She looks so happy and peaceful. Her shoulder length reddish orange hair is lying across her cheek with just a lock over her eye. I kinda miss when she kept it in a ponytail on the side. She's so warm even though it's a chilly night. We should have found a Center but Misty insisted we spend the first night together camping out in the forest with our Pokémon just like we had when we were 10 and 12. Wow 10 years and here I am still sleeping on the ground. I can't say it's been a bad decade though._


	2. A Master Realized

_No not a bad decade at all. For one thing there was Misty. When I showed up in Pallet and she was waiting there I didn't know if she was gonna cry or take my head off._

I was walking toward my house (I had just came in from some serious training in Johto) and I had expected Mimey to be sweeping or to see my Mom in the Garden but to my surprise Misty was standing out front with my mother and Prof. Oak.

The professor greeted me, "Hi there."

My mom fawned, "Oh, Ash!"

Misty on the other hand just ran to me and kinda tackled/hugged me for a moment until I said something, "Uh, I missed you, too, Misty."

After I broke the dead air she burst into a flurry of words shifting between fury and worry, "How dare you Ash Ketchum," that was fury. Followed by worry, "You've been gone nearly six months and not any word." Fury again, "You are so inconsiderate and immature." Back to worry, "You were all alone. You could've been hurt." And then a little bit of both, "You have no idea how worried I was- I mean your mother and the Professor were."

I really didn't know what to say. "Uh, I'm sorry?" I stammered and looked to my mom for help.

"Oh, Misty is just happy to see you," Mom said with a smile. "Why don't we all go inside. I made lunch."

We all filed in to the kitchen and ate the sandwiches as they asked about my training. "So, Ash did you make much progress?" My mom questioned.

"Yeah lots. The cold and snow was a bit harsh but being in it so much helped Lapras Blastois _and_ Snorelax lean Blizzard."

"Is that all that happened? Nothing else noteworthy." Professor Oak asked.

"Well actually yeah," I said between mouthfuls, "This kid came along and challenged me to a battle."

"I bet he beat you, huh?" Misty mocked

"Well yeah but that's the crazy thing. I had beat five of his Pokémon then out of nowhere Ho-oh showed up and battled alongside him. I didn't stand a chance."

Oak chuckled, "Oh Ho-oh? I didn't think he'd go that far."

"Wait. You sent that little kid up there to battle me? That was so frustrating. It's why I came back home."

Oak just chuckled again, "Well, not exactly. I told him Mt. Silver was a place for strong trainers to train and gave him permission, but yes I expected him to find you. And Ethan's not a little kid he's just three years younger than you."

Misty chimed in with a grin, "At least it got you back here. Who knows how long you would have been training."

"Well that's true, but I can still do better. I guess I'll rest up here for a while then head out again soon."

Misty's relatively happy expression faded into an upset one and she got up and left in a huff. "Woah, what's with her?"

Mom looked at me with a look of concern, "Maybe she is just worried about you heading out again so soon."

"But I've got to keep training if I want to be a Pokémon master."

"Ash," Oak addressed me seriously, "What exactly do you think you are now. You haave earned dozens of badges from all over the world, competed in countless Leagues, and tell me. Before Ethan when was the last time you actually lost a Pokémon battle?" I thought about it and honestly couldn't really remember, "that's what I thought, and if Ho-oh hadn't appeared do you honestly think you would have lost?"

"No. He was good but he didn't really stand a chance."

"Exactly. If you aren't a Pokémon Master, then no one is."

_That really hit me. I didn't really notice it but what he said was true. I didn't lose anymore. All I had done for years was train and win with short stints at home or with friends._

I sat there and really mulled it over. I made a decision right then. I wasn't goin anywhere for a while. "I'm gonna go talk to Misty." I got up and went after her.

I found her leaning up against the fence out front. She was crying a little and didn't notice me at first.

"Misty," I said softly.

She turned and I could see a tear on her cheek. In her hands was my hat, well my first hat, the one I had won from the Official Pokémon League Expo.

"Are you okay, Misty?" I asked still speaking softly.

"No, Ash, I'm not, and you're so stupid you don't even see it."

"I'm sorry. Misty, I really am. I think I get it now. I've been so caught up in becoming the best that I didn't realize when I became the best I could and just kept trying cause I didn't know what else to do. I know you don't want me to go off like that. I decided I'm not going to keep training at least not like I have been. No more months long trips onto the mountains or overseas."

"Are you sure you can say that. You have got my hopes up before. Do you remember when you gave me this?" She help up my hat.

"Of course I do. I told you to hang on to it the last time I was in Cerulean."

"When you gave me this I thought you finally got it. What we said. But then you up and left again a few weeks later."

"I did get it. That's why I gave it to you. That hat is one of the most valuable things I've ever had. I chased a Mankey up a tree for it for crying out loud. Then there's you. I gave you my most prized possession so the two most important things to me would always be I the same place and to make sure I never forgot either of them. Now I understand I don't need to prove myself."

Misty starts crying again but now I find myself with her burying her face in my chest hugging me.

She whispers into me, "Thank you, Ash."

That was kind of crazy, but now I feel so much better than I have in so long. After that big scene which I found out later Oak and Mom had watched from the house. We spent the rest of the day together and decided to visit Cerulean City after stopping in Pewter to see Brock.

_Well now I'm lying here trying not to fidget and doing a bad job waiting for the sun on the horizon to hurry up. _I sigh then Misty shifts a bit and I hear her say, "G'morning." I look down at her and smile as she returns the gesture.


End file.
